Tower Music / Musique de la Touruses only the sounds of the
Eiffel Tower itself. No other instruments are heard on this album. For more
info, photos, video and other media, go to www.JosephBertolozzi.com/tower-music/

The idea of harvesting sounds from civic
structures is not a new one. However, all known precedents to Tower
Music are either ambient, electronically
processed, inclusive of traditional instruments, or various combinations of
those approaches. What makes the aesthetic premise of Tower Music unique is
that it presents fixed musical compositions using no other tones than those of
the Eiffel Tower itself and without added effects. It also remains playable by
the requisite number of live musicians for which it was originally intended.

Ten thousand samples were recorded from the
Eiffel Tower’s various surfaces. Then the samples were catalogued by tone and
location, whittled down to 2,800 as a working set of sounds and then assembled
into a virtual instrument from which Bertolozzi’s vision could be
turned into sound. This album is the result.

A future goal for Tower Music is for it to be
performed live. Inquiries regarding sponsorship of Tower Music (and its sister
project Bridge Music) as a live event can be directed to info@JosephBertolozzi.com

To fully enjoy the sound world of Tower Music, employ a
subwoofer and turn it up!

But as you read these notes, remember they are
just words…listen to the music! The intention is to create something
recognizable as music to the casual listener before he or
she thinks “what is that unusual sound?” Gustave Eiffel
would be fascinated with this new purposing of his beloved Tower for the music
of our own time.

[1] A
Thousand Feet of Sound / Trois cents mètres de son (5:11)

This is the Eiffel Tower’s calling card,
demonstrating its entire aural array. It mirrors the impact of seeing the
Eiffel Tower in person for the first time: bold and commanding in its initial
impression, elegant and austere upon reflection, and powerful once again as one
steps back to consider the whole.

Contrasting highly to the preceding track,
this movement forms a quiet, enveloping atmosphere. The listener is drawn into
an intimate sound world suggesting a

hybrid harp/lute/steel pan sonority,
surprising from so massive a structure.

[3] Continuum
/ Continuum (3:19)

At the 1889 World Exposition for which the
Eiffel Tower was built, musicians from Java introduced the gamelan to Europe,
profoundly influencing Western music. This piece combines stylized gamelan
motifs with contemporary post-minimalist gestures, melding the ancient music of
Indonesia with the modern age…a continuum.

[4] Prelude
/ Prélude (0:49)

A gentle re-casting of a melody derived from
the next movement.

[5] Ironworks
/ Ferronnerie (4:05)

A series of powerful rhythmic cadences separated
by a melodic refrain…a sister work to Bridge Music’s “Steel Works,” New York’s
Mid-Hudson Bridge being made of steel and the Eiffel Tower being made of iron.

[6] The
Elephant on the Tower / L'éléphantsur la Tour (3:29)

After the fierceness of “Ironworks,” a gentle
waltz. Why not? The musical world encompasses everything from pulsating vigor
to the elegant lilt. There are no boundaries…including keeping the oldest
elephant in the world from ascending to the first level, a stunt organized by
the BouglioneCircus in 1948.

[7] Glass
Floor Rhythms / Rythmessur le
parterre vitré (2:45)

Some intrepidly approach the glass floors,
others hesitate…each have their own rhythm.

[8] Evening
Harmonies / Harmonies du Soir (4:31)
This work, spread over a dark canvas, is a deeply introspective exploration of
the Eiffel Tower’s sounds by themselves, unshackled by any rhythmic or melodic
imperative. Where most of the rest of Tower Music springs from existing
percussive traditions and instruments, this one designs its own idiom.
Upon its ending, it completely clears the palate for the tension that
is about to explode with the final movement.

[9] Tower
Music / Musique de la Tour (10:53)

Erupting with dramatic sweep and then
launching into a series of concussive surges that draws one ever further in, a
journey is begun. Vigorously muscular themes emerge trading blows with the
underpinning rhythms. The listener is then delivered to a slow central section
where a melody is played and then only suggested by cymbal-like hisses
(actually fences and panels). When the previous themes return it’s as an
introduction to an even faster section but interspersed with canonic
cat-and-mouse chases. A huge climax brings the entire opus and a ten-year-long
project to a close.

Joseph Bertolozzi forges a unique
identity as a 21st century composer with works ranging from symphony orchestra
to public sound-art installations. Many of his compositions can be heard at www.JosephBertolozzi.com.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSTower Music was created in partnership with
The Sociétéd’Exploitation de
la Tour Eiffel (SETE). Special support came from The Sonic Arts Center at The
City College of New York. Special thanks to D'Arcangelo&
Co, LLP, Drake, Loeb, Heller, Kennedy, Gogerty, Gaba and Rodd PLLC, and
Congressman Maurice Hinchey (Retired).